Disfranchisement Dbq

World War I begun when Germany invaded Belgium in order to attack France, in which the British declared war on Germany. World War I was called the Great War. President Wilson stated, “It is a war against all nations. American ships have been sunk, American lives taken, in ways which it has stirred us very deeply to learn of, but the ships and people of other neutral and friendly nations have been sunk and overwhelmed in the waters in the same way” (155). This war was viewed as a great crusade to establish legal and moral principles for all nations to follow.

Hiram Johnson, the former reform governor who served in the senate, spoke for many Americans during World War I. He proposed that the government make the defense industry contribute to

the war. Although his legislation failed, it reflected the effort by Progressives to regulate economic activity so as to serve the public interest (157). The war profits were a big issue to the people. However, that wasn’t the only thing that changed on this shameful land.
Many people resented the discriminatory treatment black soldiers and sailors received while defending American values.

This country disfranchises its own citizens. W. E. B. DuBois stated, “Disfranchisement is the deliberate theft and robbery of the only protection of poor against rich and black against white” (163). It encourages ignorance. DuBois stated, “A dominant minority does not want Negroes educated. It wants servants, dogs, whores, and monkeys” (164). “They threaten us with degeneracy; they cannot be educated” (164). So therefore, African Americans return from fighting and have to continue to fight for what’s

right.
Blacks from the rural south who served in the military were less willing to tolerate racial abuse and Jim Crow Segregation laws once they returned home. Many migrated north and west for higher wages and racial equality, only to discover racism was not limited to the south. White mobs assaulted blacks, there were race riots, and innocent people were sent to jail for expressing their views and civil liberties were ignored. Those violent labor disputes came about from high prices in the economy.
There were social strains in the United States. The American economy suffered a brief but sharp recession as factories and business shifted back to production. Prices flew as consumers sought the goods and services they had sacrificed during the war. The nation was in fear but however, women showed their strength and independence while the men were at war. President Wilson advised congress to give women the same rights as men because he felt as though they deserved it.
On the other hand, World War II had a change in American society also.

Women were offered new possibilities especially in the work force. “Rosie the Riveter” became the popular symbol of women who abandoned traditional female occupations to work in defense industries. Women power will be found for economic independence, the aping of men in industrial pursuits, and or joining battle for the military in which “men” are only supposed to join. Inez Saucer, chief clerk in the tool room stated, “The war changed my life completely. I guess you can say, at thirty-one, I finally grew up” (223). World War II gave women a chance to do something different for a chance that eventually led to an increase in divorce. Women employment grew and their place in society did also. They gained the right to vote and began expressing themselves in ways such as politics and

fashion.
In addition, foods were rationed such as butter and major industries had to expand. One major industry was cars and transportation such as Henry Ford, Model T. Ford made his company the biggest in the industry. The moving assembly line allowed Ford to produce far more cars than any other company. The Model T and mass production made Ford an international figure. His advancement in automobiles made model T affordable for majority of Americans. Many middle-class individuals used consumer credit. Credit was also available for home mortgages.
However, the war economy pulled the nation out of depression and into migration. The number of blacks migrating from the south to the north, doubled after World War II. Unemployment rates reached an all-time low and work was needed. There were opportunities in the cities that needed to be taken advantage of but many changes were at the expense of many lives. It was stated, “Prejudice against blacks in the workplace remained rampant; they continued to be the last hired and first fired” (212). Therefore, African Americans threatened to march on Washington to get President Roosevelt attention to give minorities’ equal access to jobs. However, before the march, Roosevelt created a Fair Employment Practices Committee to eliminate racial discrimination in government hiring.
In other words, World War I had an effect on the economy, race relations, gender roles and more but it wasn’t quite enough. There were still problems and changes to be made. Once World War II occurred, more changes to society occurred and made the United States a better place to live in. As of today, we as in citizens of the United States can look back into time and say we’ve come a long way. Of course change hasn’t stopped, we improve everyday but no one can fully say that as an individual, gender, or race is left out of society.